Westboro Baptist Church

This particularly virulent organization was again brought to my attention by a friends Facebook posting. She was posting in reference to the death of Marine Corporal Kevin Reinhard’s recent death in Afghanistan and the intent of this hate group to protest both his funeral service and burial this coming Monday. CPL Reinhard perished in a helicopter accident along with five others on the 19th of January. The group has to maintain a minimum of 500 feet from the funeral members, but thanks to the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court not too long ago, they are still allowed to show their hate-filled pickets and spew their racial, homophobic epithets in deference to the feelings of family members and loved ones. There has been a group created specifically to help counter these filth mongers and I will discuss their good deeds in just a few minutes. For now though a little bit on the WBC.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depends on how you decide to take it, I was able to get a little bit of information from the official website of the WBC, God Hates Fags. Not wanting to draw too much attention to this group, I am a believer that the more you talk about people, the greater the effect they will have thanks to the notoriety, so click the link at your own risk and be prepared to take a shower afterwards.

Founded by Fred Phelps in 1955, the WBC is in no way associated with any official baptist convention or associations. They are Baptist in their name alone. They are firm believers that America is doomed thanks to its lack of “old-school” Baptist philosophy, that God has killed all of our service men and women in OIF and OEF because of our Sodom and Gomorrah like ways, that jews are evil and only they will be saved when it comes crashing down. The majority of the “congregation” is believed to be the immediate and extended family of Phelps with a very small total number considering their overall reach and influence. Located in Topeka, Kansas, they have been the subject of numerous lawsuits for conducting their alleged 47,000 pickets in defense of their beliefs.

WBC has been named a hate-group by the Anti-Defamation League and actually had their actions successfully defended on Constitutional grounds in front of the USSC. It is common practice for their congregation (family members) to attend college and subsequent law schools, specializing in Constitutional Law. They have on several occasions tried to perform their “pickets” in foreign countries, being barred from entry by Great Britain and staging one protest in Canada after entering the country illegally. The bottom left of their home page has a list of the “numbers” that they believe are the direct result of God’s ire towards Americans and they were able to influence thanks to their good works.

Here is a video shot by a local new station here in the Fort Bragg area of one of the WBC pickets. It is shot from the side of the counter-protestor, aka, the good guys. Every once in a while you can see the measly amount of the WBC congregation who showed up on the far side of the highway, while the few hundred good guys show their pride in our troops and disdain for the hate-mongers. The most amazing thing about the whole event is the amount of small children they brought along to help them spew their propaganda.

In 2005 a group formed in order help families protect themselves from this onslaught of vulgarity when they most need it. the Patriot Guard is a collection of motorcyclists with groups in all 50 states and each and every territory the United States is responsible for. At the request of the family and only at their request they will position themselves between the WBC and the services being conducted with a wall of flags and if necessary the revving of their motorcycles in order to drown out the chants. They will also provide an escort to between locations for the procession with flags billowing behind their bikes. Here is a video of the Patriot Guard Riders doing their good deeds.

I have been a soldier a long time and since 2001 I have had almost five years deployed between Iraq and Afghanistan. That is a lot of time spent away from my family, but I have been fortunate to be able to make it home each and every time. I have been to so many memorials that it would really not hurt me to never have to go to another one ever again, but I will never, ever shy away from going to one. If I have one trigger for my own personal PTSD it is hearing Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. I am by no means a religious person, but that song has some truly tangible effects on me when I hear it. It makes me ill that my comrades in arms fight and die for a group such as Westboro Baptist to be able to do what they do. It is a disgusting perversion of our already imperfect system. I am smart enough to know that fighting them will get no where, violence just will not work. What does work is to turn your back on them and line the streets protecting the mourners from the onslaught of filth, holding a flag high and demonstrating your patriotism. WBC is a bitter cup to drink and is of the type that can only be achieved by familial ties and the tainted DNA it produces.

My condolences to the Reinhard family and the over 6000 men and women who have given their lives in the last 10 years. Thanks to the Patriot Guard Riders and others like them who shield those in need when they need it the most and piss on the WBC for the malignant message you spew.